China 200 BCE900 CE Qin Unifies China 221

China 200 BCE-900 CE

Qin Unifies China ¡ 221 BCE Qin unified the empire ¡ Conquered north China and defeated the Xiongnu ¡ Border tribes (related to Huns) in north/west ¡Massive public work projects ¡ Constructed Great Wall to keep out Xiongnu ¡First emperor was Qin Shi Huangdi ¡ Tomb held 7000+ terra cotta soldiers

Economy and Administration ¡Built canals and river transport systems ¡Ruled through bureaucracy ¡ Chosen based on ability ¡ 40 administrative units called “commanderies” ¡Standardization ¡ Weights and measures ¡ Coinage ¡ Legal code ¡ Written Chinese language ¡ Political and cultural unification of China

Ideologies of Empire ¡Importance placed on philosophy ¡Three schools of thought emerged during late Zhou and Warring States Period ¡ Confucianism ¡ Daoism ¡ Legalism

Confucianism ¡Kong Fuzi (Confucius) sought to reform China by redefining Chinese political and ethical thought ¡ Felt government depended on good officials ¡Canonized five earliest historical texts ¡ Added The Analects ¡Ideas welcomed under the Han Dynasty ¡ Evolved over time

Legalism ¡Qin rejected Confucianism and favored Legalism ¡Strict laws and strict enforcement for good government ¡ Rewards for those who follow laws, punishment for those who don’t

Confucianism vs. Legalism ¡Collided during Qin Dynasty ¡Prime minister Li Si (280 -208 BCE) recommended the Confucian classics be collected and burned ¡Confucian backlash against Qin ¡ Qin Shi Huangdi had 460 scholars burned alive ¡Mandate of Heaven ¡ Enduring concept of Chinese imperialism ¡ An omnipotent heaven conferred the emperor’s ability to rule ¡ Natural disasters show loss of mandate

Daoism ¡Founder was Laozi ¡ Key text was Daodejing (“The Way and its Power”) ¡Philosophy of spontaneity in the face of nature and the cosmos ¡ Mystical, not political ¡Believe in a natural order (Dao) ¡ Diminished view of government ¡Over time, the Chinese embraced both Confucianism and Daoism

Fall of Qin Dynasty ¡ Within 4 years Qin Shi Huangdi’s death, Qin empire collapsed ¡ Oppressed 90% of the empire and sent hundreds of thousands to fight the Xiongnu at the Great Walll ¡ Fight over succession to the throne ¡ Between emperor’s son, Li Si, and the eunuch Zhao Gao ¡ Internal conflict, murder, and suicide ¡ Rebels broke into the capital at Xianyang and captured power ¡ In 206 BCE, the rebel leader Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty

Han Empire ¡Empire remained united under different ruling families ¡Confucian-based ¡ Appeared in history, imperial academy (established by Emperor Wu), law, and society ¡ Court historians appointed ¡ Confucian knowledge as basis of promotion ¡ Chinese legal system developed in 51 BCE ¡ Women urged to be self-sacrificing

Military Power ¡Large standing army (300, 000 -1 mil) ¡ Men between 20 -56 were conscripted ¡Incessant battles with Xiongnu and other tribes along the Wall ¡ Forced open a corridor through Gansu to open markets from the west ¡“Tributary System” ¡ Neighboring tributary group acknowledge Chinese dominance and offer tribute to emperor

Economic Power ¡Military-agriculture colonies for military defense and economic development ¡ Population in north declining and south increased ¡ Immigration and natural growth along with flooding and wars ¡ Earliest census taken in year 2 CE ¡Expansion of iron industry ¡Trade from the Gansu corridor ¡ Horses, silk ¡Began to nationalize industry under Emperor Wu

Interregnum ¡Though no clear succession maintained under the Han, it usually ran smoothly ¡In 1 BCE, Emperor Ping (8 years old) inherited the throne ¡ Regent, Wang Mang, appointed to run until Ping died in 9 CE ¡Wang Mang continued to rule but alienated everyone ¡ Immense flooding of Yellow River, Xiongnu invasion, rebellion of Han nobles, and revolt of Red Turbans brought down Wang Mang and reinstated the Han

Fall of Han ¡Later Han dynasty did not have the old strength ¡ Made alliances with barbarians ¡ Led to sinicization of foreign peoples ¡ Moved capital south to Chang’an ¡Yellow Turban revolt led by Zhang Je broke out in 184 CE ¡ Triggered string of revolts ¡Four factions struggled for power ¡ Child emperor, bureaucrats, eunuchs, women of the court ¡Last Han emperor, Xian abdicated in 220 CE

Disintegration ¡China divided into three states after fall of Han (Wei, Wu, and Shu) ¡ Briefly united under Jin (Chin) from 265 -316 CE ¡Then China divided north and south by the Huai River Basin ¡Remained united culturally and ethically ¡ Assimilation characterized the north ¡ Common cultured referred in “People of Han” ¡Most powerful of nomadic conquerors were most assimilated ¡ Northern Wei (Toba Wei) ruled from 386 -534 ¡ Adopted Chinese bureaucracy, customs, and contributed their own administrative practices

Buddhism ¡Buddhism entered China from India during the Han dynasty ¡ Religion of compassion in midst of pain ¡Was opposed early by Confucian scholars and Daoists ¡Why accepted? ¡ Nomads began accepting the foreign religion ¡ Favored by the merchant class in India and spread to merchant class in China ¡ Gained favor in regional courts and grew to millions of followers ¡ Mixed Confucianism and Daoism bringing cultural innovations

Sui Dynasty ¡ Founded by Emperor Wen, a general from the north ¡ Large, loyal standing army by raising status of militia ¡ Used crossbows and armor ¡ Won popular loyalty by combining Confucian, Daoist, & Buddhist practice ¡ Centralized authority with local power base ¡ Centralized legal code ¡ Completed Grand Canal and rebuilt the capital ¡ Required labor of 5. 5 million people with nearly 50, 000 police ¡ Capital provided transportation of produce between north/south ¡ Declined because of economic strain and military losses in Korea and Central Asia

Tang Dynasty ¡ Leading Sui General, Gaozu, established the Tang dynasty in 618 ¡ Extended China’s reign to Mongolia, Turkestan, central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran ¡ Examination system for bureaucracy ¡ Art and technology improvements ¡ First block printing ¡ Buddhist religious art ¡ Ceramics and porcelain ¡ Machinery and windmills ¡ Pharmacopoeia ¡ Poetry and meditation

Imperial China ¡ Within China, many tribal groups assimilated ¡ Seen as mutually beneficial ¡ Expanded to the west and northwest did not last long ¡ In the south and southwest, many groups assimilated with the Chinese ¡ Han dynasty conquered Annam (Vietnam) and incorporated it into China resulting in a love-hate relationship for years ¡ Adopted Confucian ideas and bureaucracy ¡ Adopted Mahayana Buddhism from China ¡ Revolts against Chinese customs ¡ Trung sisters led revolt in 29 CE and evicted the Chinese, ruling for two years

Chinese Influence in Korea ¡After the fall of the Han in 220, Korea broke free of direct Chinese control ¡Chinese hegemony influenced the Korean peninsula ¡ Adopted from early Chinese Shang Dynasty ¡ Own written system called han’gul based on phonetics ¡ Confucianism, law codes, administration, literature, art, and Mahayana Buddhism came to Korea via China ¡ Capital of Kaesong modeled on Tang capital Chang’an

Chinese Influence in Japan ¡ Immigrants from China and Korea came to Japan between 200 BCE-500 CE ¡China never conquered Japan, but Japan accepted Chinese cultural hegemony ¡ Written language brought to Japan via Korean scribe Wani in 405 CE ¡ Japanese dynasty used Chinese characters, Confucianism and Buddhism combined with Shinto ¡ Calendar, government, and “constitution” modeled from China

Japan ¡Political infighting brought Fujiwara to power in 645 ¡ Adopted Chinese culture, religion, and government to unify Japan ¡ Proclaimed Taika (great change) reforms in 646 ¡ Administration, roads, redistribution of land ¡ Japanese ruler claimed divine right ¡ Cannot be revoked (unlike Mandate of Heaven)